The book of Exodus is about kingdoms and servitude; enslaved in the kingdom of Egypt, generally representative of the kingdom of the world (Satan's kingdom), Israel is released from their bondage and "freed into" God's Kingdom. Attested to by the Old and New Testaments is the fact that true freedom, as my Facebook post from the other day says, is not found in autonomy, but in servitude to the right master, to the master with the authority to make one free. That's why I say they were "freed into," because freedom is not a one way release from something, but a transference from one kingdom to another. Salvation in Christ is not simply a release from the consequence of sin (death), but the transference from the kingdom where there is sin due to breaking God's law, into the realm of grace where one's obedience to the new Master is not forced, coerced or mandated, but is the natural response of someone who realizes what has been done for them. In the "Old Kingdom," obedience is forced; in the "New Kingdom," obedience grows naturally in love.
When a person reaches the edge of understanding what God has done for them and is nearing the place of full acceptance by faith into salvation, he/she experiences a conflict of these two kingdoms, which are now equally affecting and influencing them. The two places in Scripture where this phenomenon is most easily seen is in Exodus 1 and Romans 7:13-25.
In Exodus, God's people are enslaved in Egypt. The purpose of in this enslavement is population control and security. At least, it was until the Egyptian government realized their efforts were useless against the principles of God's Kingdom, at which point they began killing Hebrew children themselves (1:22).
Under Egyptian domination, obedience was forced. The NET Bible translation of Exodus 1:13-14 reads, "...and they made the Israelites serve rigorously. They made their lives bitter by hard service with mortar and bricks and by all kinds of service in the fields. Every kind of service the Israelites were required to give was rigorous." The Hebrew word most translations render "afflicted," means "to make one feel their dependence." Israel was hopelessly oppressed and suppressed under this regime. Their obedience was forced and there was no escape.
But there was another force at work on them: the promise of God to those in His Kingdom. When God first made His covenant promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 God said,
2"And I will make you a great nation,
And I will bless you,
And make your name great;
And so you shall be a blessing;
3And I will bless those who bless you,
And the one who curses you I will curse.
And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." (NASB)
Israel did not become the people of God by entering into a covenant with God at Sinai in Exodus 19-20. Israel become God's people by His sovereign choice, in Abraham. This is why God refers to Israel as "my firstborn son" as early as Exodus 4. They were already God's chosen people while enslaved in Egypt. They were part of God's kingdom. Thus, "the more the Egyptians oppressed them, the more they multiplied and spread. As a result the Egyptians loathed the Israelites, and they made the Israelites serve rigorously." (Exod. 1:12-13, NET)
At the same time that the principles of the kingdom of this world was at work in Israel, the principles of God's kingdom and covenant applied as well. Israel could see both kingdoms at once. So when the Hebrew midwives are commanded to commit mass infanticide, they choose obedience to the higher kingdom. They feared Pharaoh, but they feared God more. True freedom was servitude to the master with enough authority to give them freedom. God's favor and blessing shone through to His people even while they were entrenched in oppressive slavery.
The same principle is at work in Romans 7. Much debate exists about who the "I" in this passage is (Paul, Adam, unconverted Gentiles, etc), but the interpretation I favor is that Paul is speaking as any person, Jew or Gentile, who is in the process of converting, and he is speaking from the perspective of being "in Adam." This is why in 7:9 Paul says that he (whoever he is speaking as) was alive once apart from law, and who can say that but Adam? This passage describes the stage of enlightenment to the realization of God's law. Despite being enslaved and bound to sin, unable to lift his head to God, he becomes aware of the reality of God's law and wants to obey, but cannot, because he is "unspiritual, sold into slavery to sin" (7:14b).
Ultimately, true freedom for the person Paul speaks for (which is everyone who comes to Christ), is found in accepting the higher master, the higher kingdom. In salvation we are transferred from the kingdom of law and sin, into God's kingdom of infinite grace where no sin is counted against the adopted sons of God.
"Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (7:24-25a, NET).
